There is a fairly diverse market for lightweight, portable furniture such as tables and chairs that can be easily transported and assembled or erected on site and that can be disassembled or "knocked down" for easy disposal or stored for another day. Such furniture finds particular application for picnics, parties and college student living quarters. Such furniture should be easy to assemble or erect and knock back down to a storage condition. It should also be inexpensive to ship in bulk and easy to display in a variety of different stores, such as hardware stores, drug stores, department stores, variety stores, and bookstores. Furniture that is shipped and sold in a generally flat, unassembled condition and is made of cardboard or fiberboard or the like is ideal for such purposes.
Over the years, a number of furniture constructions have been developed whereby the furniture piece is erected or constructed from one or more components made of cardboard or a similar material and from a generally flat, and unassembled or folded condition. Examples of these and similar furniture constructions may be found in the following U.S. Patents:
Patent No. Inventor 1,662,121 Moncrieff 2,279,865 Eide 2,361,875 Sachs 3,262,405 Sutton 3,566,808 Slate Jr. 3,620,175 Crane et al. 3,714,908 Notko 3,724,399 Notko et al. 3,866,550 Geschwender 4,078,502 Barna 4,084,517 Guess 4,138,951 Nelson 4,348,052 Roland 4,632,040 Sheffer 4,632,345 Barley 4,841,882 Ehrman 4,926,759 Vitsky et al. 5,018,454 Negus 5,069,144 Williford 5,263,766 McCullough 5,580,131 Ribot 5,682,623 Fenoglio JP406237832 A Maruni Kagu Kogyo K.K. GB2151473 A Jedzinski FR002505636 A3 Roch
The articles of furniture disclosed in the above-referenced patents are assembled from either a single cut blank with fold lines and assembly tabs and slots, or from two or more pre-cut and/or pre-assembled sections that are interfitted together using a series of shaped tabs and slots. In each case, it is believed that the resulting structure may be made lighter and easier to assemble, or may be pre-packaged in a smaller, easier to carry package. In furniture of this type, it is desirable to reduce the weight and bulk of the components, while at the same time increasing the strength and stability of the assembled product. Furthermore, it is desirable that assembly of the article of furniture be sufficiently uncomplicated so that a person could assemble the furniture article with little or no instructions.